After officially announcing his 2016 presidential run on Twitter early Monday morning, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz rallied a crowd of thousands at Liberty University to solidify his candidacy for the White House.

"Today I want to talk to you about the promise of America," Cruz said without a teleprompter, podium or notes. "I believe that God isn't done with America yet. I believe in you. I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives raising up to reignite the promise of America and that is why today I am announcing I am running for President of the United States."

"It is a time for truth. It is a time for liberty. It is a time to reclaim the constitution of the United States. I am honored to stand with each and every one of you courageous conservatives as we come together as we reclaim the promise of America, the mandate, the hope and opportunity for our children, our children's children. We stand together for liberty. This is our fight. The answer will not come from Washington, it will come only from the men and women across this country."

Quoting Founding Father Patrick Henry, Cruz encouraged conservatives around the country to stand up and "demand liberty." He also encouraged millions of born-again Christians, who have been staying home on Election Day, to show up and vote on their values.

Early in his remarks, Cruz told the story of his father's struggle under Batista's Cuba and expressed gratitude for all of the opportunity America presented to their family. He also talked about his faith and credited his father's turn to Christianity for saving his parent's marriage.

"There are people who wonder if faith is real, I can tell you, in my family there is not a second of doubt," Cruz said. "Our rights don't come from man, they come from God only."

Cruz spent a portion of his speech slamming Obamacare and credited Liberty University for filing a lawsuit against the legislation when it was passed five years ago today. Cruz called for a flat tax during his speech, saying it would allow every American to fill out their taxes on a postcard.

Cruz also touched on the issues of Common Core, promoting school choice as the civil rights issue of our time, protection of the First and Second Amendments, privacy from the federal government, defeating Islamic terrorism, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and standing as president unapologetically with Israel.

Cruz thanked his wife Heidi during his speech and said his daughters Caroline and Catherine are the joys of their lives.

Cruz is the first candidate of either Party to officially announce a 2016 run for the White House.